Closed Welcome to Hogwarts

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope felt a little weird about Holden being at Hogwarts. In the past, sharing schools with him had never been a very enjoyable experience for either of them. But Penny was determined for Hogwarts to be different. Holden just needed to be open for it, he would see it was full of good things and then maybe he wouldn't act out. She could only hope. Penelope had made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast a bit early so she could pick out something good for him. She finally settled on a muffin that she took from her own table to the Gryffindor one. She knew these muffins would be there as well, but it was the gesture that counted, right? She spotted her brother and took the seat opposite of him, carefully placing the muffin on his plate. "Welcome to Hogwarts!" She said brightly. "How is Gryffindor? Did you make friends with your roommates?" She asked brightly, pretending not to see the sour expression on his face.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Life at Hogwarts wasn't terrible, but Holden wasn't excited to be here at all either. It was just... another place to be. His dad and Connor weren't around anymore, at least, but Eric was.... surprisingly okay, and he was shocked that he actually missed his oldest... whatever. Just a little. But Penny was here, for better or worse, and she was making it clear that he couldn't escape her. Holden winced when she joined him at his table, ducking his head quickly. "I'm fine." He grumbled, picking a clump off the muffin and flicking it at her. "Go away."

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope’s face fell when Holden chucked a bit of the muffin at her. She frowned, clearly wounded. “I just want to chat a little, I’ll go back to my own table soon.” She said, wishing already that she hadn’t bothered. But she felt a little angry too. They had both lost their mother, didn’t Holden feel the need to stay closer together because of it? Apparently not. “Please, Holden, five minutes?” She asked, feeling pathetic as she begged her little brother to spend some time with her.

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden felt a quick pang of guilt at Penny's reaction, looking away quickly. She was trying, or whatever. "Sorry." He mumbled, studying his muffin as he shredded it into crumbs for something to do. "It's cool." Though he wasn't surprised Penny was trying to spend time with him, he was a little surprised it had been so sudden. She had been here for two years already - he had expected her to be too busy with her own life to try and butt into his. But she had always been fussy, especially after their mum died. It made sense that she would seize this opportunity to coddle him more than ever. "What's up?"

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope had just about given up on this whole thing, when Holden apologized. It was half-hearted, but even that was a rarity, she knew. She frowned a bit. “Yeah? Are your roommates nice to you?” She paused a beat. “...Are you nice to them?” She sighed at his question, didn’t he get it? She had to look out for him, that was her job. “Like I said, I just want to know how you’re doing.”

 

[Holden Marshall]

Holden had expected Penny to pry, but he didn't even try to cover up his scowl as she questioned him. "I'm not a total d*ck." He snapped, giving her a Look. "My roommates are fine." He added, glaring at her. "Did you think I was gonna start bullying people the second I got here?!"

 

[Penelope Marshall]

Penelope winced at Holden’s angry reaction. Why was he always so angry with her? She shook her head quickly. “I know you’re not, I just want you to make friends!” She said quickly. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten through my first two years without Marnie, I want you to have someone like that.” She said, biting her lip for a moment. “Of course, I didn’t think you’d start bullying, but you can get… angry, people can get the wrong idea.”